1996 Buick Century Owner's Manual - Page 155

Driving on Snow or Ice Most of the time, those places where your tires meet the road probably have good traction. However, if there is snow or ice between your tires and the road, you can have a very slippery situation. You'll have a to lot less tractionor "grip" and will need be very careful. ice can be even more trouble because it may offer the least traction of all. You can get wet ice when it's about freezing (32°F; 0°C) and freezing rain begins to fall. Try to avoid driving onwet ice until salt and sand crews can get there. Whatever the condition -- smooth ice, packed, blowing or loose snow -- drive with caution. Accelerategently. Try not to break the fragile traction. If you accelerate too fast,the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface under the tires even more. Your anti-lock brakes improve your vehicle's stability when you make a hard stop on a slippery road. Even though you have the anti-lock braking system, you'll want to begin stopping sooner than you would on dry pavement. See "Anti-Lock" in the Index. Allow greater following distance on any slippery road. Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fine until you hit a spot that's covered with ice. On an otherwise clearroad, ice patches may appear in shaded areas where the sun can't reach: around clumps of trees, behind buildings or under bridges. Sometimes the surface of a curve or overpass may an remain icy when the surrounding roads are clear. If you see apatch of ice ahead of you, brake before you are on it. Try not to brake while you're actually on the ice, and avoid sudden steering maneuvers. What's the worst time for this?"Wet ice." Very cold snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet 4-25